Bellator 35's Dan Hornbuckle: "I am out for blood as soon as possible"

Righting the ship was just what the doctor ordered for Dan Hornbuckle (22-3 MMA, 3-1 BFC) with his August 2010 win over UFC veteran Brad Blackburn.

After ending up on the wrong end of a unanimous decision to Ben Askren in the Bellator season-two welterweight tournament final in his previous bout, a bounce back victory was needed and attained.

It was important for Hornbuckle to regain his mojo and have some momentum heading into the forthcoming season-four tournament.

“That was a big win for me,” Hornbuckle recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I know losing two in a row is never the hot setup. I knew that coming out of the gate after the finals last year and making an impressive statement against a very seasoned, very tough Brad Blackburn would get me right back in the mix of things.”

Weedman (17-5-1 MMA, 3-0 BFC) and Hornbuckle square off in one of the quarterfinal bouts on the main card at Bellator 35, which takes place Saturday night at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore, Calif. MTV2 features the main card live.

From top to bottom, the welterweight talent pool has increased considerably in comparison to the season-two configuration. Bellator was extremely active in pursuing a solid mixture of quality veterans and up-and-coming prospects to co-mingle.

“All the sudden it got a lot more tough,” Hornbuckle said. “The way this is stacking up it is probably one of the best tournaments that any company has ever put together. Well, I guess the heavyweights with Strikeforce are pretty damn good now, but along the lines of welterweights, this is pretty damn tough the way it is built.”

The fact that he’s been through the process before can only be an asset. After all, the tournament format is a unique animal. One of the most important things you can do is to find a way to take care of your body throughout.

“Last season, I was pretty fortunate and got out of the ring in under a minute or two minutes each fight and didn’t take that much damage,” he said. “I was really back in the gym the Monday or Tuesday of the following week.

“I was actually very surprised on how my body did hold up, especially training down at the main camp at [American Top Team] with all those unpaid fights, then fighting once a month on the competitive end. It held up real well. I guess the main thing is just to minimize the damage taken during it, because you know you’re going to have to go through at minimum three months of competing.”

At this point, Hornbuckle is simply counting down the hours before he can step back into the cage. He’s anxious and excited to begin his quest towards capturing the tournament crown.

“I am out for blood as soon as possible,” he said. “I want to get out of this ring. I guess that’s another strategy – get in and out of that ring as soon as possible and move on to the next round. Something’s going to get finished, and it’s going to be Brent.

“I’m not a trash-talker. That’s not trash. That’s just being confident. It’s not cocky. It’s borderline. It’s teetering. Here’s my prediction: first round. Boom! That just happened.”

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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